Pruning Thining Crown reductions

Trees at various stages throughout their life may require pruning for a variety of reasons, such as bad genetic stock (provenance), the natural aging process, previous bad or unnecessary workmanship, and to limit the accidental damage caused by contractors or development sites. Pruning at the right time can help prolong the useful life expectancy of a tree.

We at Crown Tree Surgeons use our knowledge gained from
years of experience in the profession backed up by technical information
supplied by the latest arboricultural research. We also take great pleaser when
pruning any tree and we think our work speaks for its self in our before &
after photos at the bottom of this page.

Formative pruning:

Pruning trees when young should aim to produce a tree which in maturity will be free from major physical weaknesses. Unwanted secoundry leading shoots and potentially weak forks which could fail in adverse weather conditions, e.g strong winds or snow, should be removed.

Crown reduction and/or reshaping:

Reduction and/or reshaping should be carried out by cutting back to a bud or branch to retain a flowing branch line with out leaving stumps. All cuts should be made just outside the line of the branch bark ridge and branch collar of the retained branch.

Very substantial crown reductions should , ideally not be made during a single growing season since severe loss of leaf area and multiple wounding may impair a tree's defences against diseases and decay. Reshaping should be a "once only" operation to make a tree safe or to bring it to a desirable condition or shape. With a few species it may be appropriate to reshape a crown by careful pruning. This technique has a place in urban area management programmes for existing mature trees which have previously pollarded. Regular crown redution may be harmful and may make a tree unsafe it is worth considering the removal and replacement of such a tree with a more appropriate species.

Crown thinning:

Crown thinning, which involves the removal of a proportion of secondary and small, live branch growth from throughtout the crown to produce an even density of foliage around a well spaced and balanced branch structure should usually be confined to broadleaf species. Crossing, weak, duplicated, dead and damaged branches should be removed. The percentage of the crown to be removed should be stated, but the leaf area removed should not normally exceed 30% of the original coverage.

Crown thinning can stimulate many tree species into producing epicormic shoots and dense crown will frequently form again.

Crown lifiting:

Crown lifiting , which involves the removal of the lower branches to a given height above the ground level should be achieved either by the removal of the whole branches, or by the removal of one or two parts which extend below the desired clear height.

Crown cleaning:

Crown cleaning is removal of any dead brnches that are still attached to the tree, as to minimise danger of falling debris.

Pollarding:

Topping and lopping are synonyms for pollarding.

Pollarding, which in some circumstances has been a traditional form of management, should not be used on trees that have not previously been pollarded, as the large wounds created initiate serious decay in mature and maturing trees.

Very heavy prunning may kill some species while others will be stimulated to produce a proliferation of very dense regrowth of shoots from around each wound. Such shoots grow vigorously and have weak attachments to the tree makig trees potentially dangerous unless recutting is done frequently. This risk is smaller for very young trees, but it is better to plant an appropriate species for the site rather then restrict the size of an unsuitably wide spreading or tall growing species.

Pruning Thining Crown reductions Gallery

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